How to Eat Healthy with Holiday Travel
by Rochelle Griffin
We are getting ready to enter the busy holiday travel season. Even if you don’t plan to travel, you may very well find yourself out shopping for the day to prepare for the festivities. Are you prepared from a food standpoint?
While I know it’s a bit early, it’s important that you have a plan NOW. I’m happy to say that I have this down to a science and want to share what I have found works. While I will be specifically telling you how I successfully navigate airport pitfalls (I do A LOT of traveling,) you can easily use the same suggestions for any travel mode.
It ultimately comes down to planning ahead. If I didn’t plan ahead, I’d easily fall victim to the bags of pretzels, hotdogs, drinks, etc. Trust me…I’m telling you like it is…I LIKE that stuff…unfortunately.
I have travel staples that I always make sure are with me. In my carry-on, I pack:
- Individual instant oatmeal packs
- Shakeology packets
- Protein bars
- Unsalted almond packs or homemade trail mix (always use raw, unsalted nuts)
- Liquid stevia
- Protein powder (single serving in baggies)
- Raw Veggies with small container of hummus
- No-Bake Shakeology Balls or Protein muffins (recipes below)
- Banana
- A shaker cup
These are items that can easily sustain you until you reach your final destination. FYI, these staples also work great when you are at a seminar!
When you are in the airport, don’t hesitate to go to a coffee shop and ask for a cup of hot water. Yea, you’ll have to pay for it but who cares? I take the cup of hot water and mix in an oatmeal pack and a scoop of protein powder. It’s filling and good for you. Boom…instant meal.
Always skip the snacks offered by the airlines. Never go with their peanuts or pretzels. Full of sodium. I don’t think twice in asking the flight attendant to fill up my shaker cup with water so I can mix my Shakeology. Also skip the soda and fruit juice. Stick with coffee (black is best or add the stevia) and water…LOTS of water!
Once you get to your destination, if you’ve diligently planned, you can continue to stay on track with healthy eating. Many people don’t realize that you can take a soft-sided small cooler with food on the plane without checking it in. If you are staying at a hotel, ask ahead of time to have the room’s mini-bar emptied. You will now have a way to keep food cold. You can pack a few salads or healthy sandwiches and put them in the fridge.
My last piece of advice is for after your trip: Do NOT weigh yourself for a few days. It’s normal to have some water weight from the flight. Don’t set yourself up to be frustrated. Simply stay away from the scale. Even if I’ve eaten totally healthy, I’m always up a few pounds for the first few days when I return. Your body WILL normalize again. Promise.
Remember, you still want to eat every 2-3 hrs even when traveling to keep your metabolism stoked. Traveling can be stressful enough, so don’t let your nutritional choices add to it. You now have the ability to eat healthy while traveling and feel great for it. Bon Voyage!
Recipes:
NO BAKE- SHAKEOLOGY BALLS
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 Tablespoons PB2 (low fat, high protein powdered peanut butter)
- 3 Tablespoons Natural Peanut butter
- ½ Cup Shakeology Protein Powder (regular or vegan)
- 3 Tablespoons Raw Honey
- ½ Cup Quick Oats
DIRECTIONS:
- Mix PB2 with water until it’s a paste like consistency.
- Mix all ingredients, including the PB2 mixture together in a mixing bowl. It may take some time to blend all of the ingredients together. If it’s too sticky, sprinkle in additional protein powder so that it’s a pretty dry/crumbly texture.
- Roll mixture into small individual balls (about a ping-pong ball size) and place on a wax sheet. Makes about 12 balls, 1 ounce each. Put in freezer until firm.
NUTRITION: (serving size 1 ball)
- Calories: 80
- Carbs: 10g
- Fat: 2g
- Protein: 7g
OATMEAL APPLESAUCE MUFFINS
Martha Stewart introduced me to these amazing muffins. I give them even MORE of a nutrition punch by adding a scoop of vanilla protein powder to the batter:
INGREDIENTS:
- Vegetable-oil cooking spray or coconut oil (preferred)
- 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose or gluten-free flour
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon old-fashioned oats
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 2 mini-muffin tins with cooking spray. Place applesauce and raisins in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and let cool completely.
- Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in bran, milk, egg, honey, ginger, and vanilla. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together flour, flaxseed, protein powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, and 1/4 cup oats. Stir into bran mixture.
- Spoon batter into prepared tins, filling to the brims. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tbsp oats over muffins. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of 1 comes out clean, 21 to 23 minutes. Let cool completely in pans on wire racks.
To Living Your Best Life,
Rochelle Griffin, RN BSN FDN-P
Rochelle Griffin, The Wellness Detective™, is a Registered Nurse (with over 22 years experience) & a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition™ Practitioner who has transitioned her love for fitness, health, & freedom into a 7-figure International company that now helps others live Their Best Life.
She founded Your Best Life, Inc with her husband Keith after stepping onto the edge of physical ruin with her health & the health of their young son. Having experienced a complete turn-around, they now desire to give hope & support to those who are dissatisfied with their current situation.
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